Wounded Soldier
by blue-eyed-hanji
Summary: a sequel to a Tumblr RP thread with petratheprincess


**_Wounded Soldier _**_– A PetraxHanji Oneshot_

_((sequel to this Tumblr RP thread)) blue-eyed-hanji dot tumblr dot com slash post/74910638338/rp-with-petratheprincess_

There she was, lying on the makeshift stretcher. Her skin was ashen and covered in blood, her amber hair: lifeless, and her beautiful hazel eyes were blank and unseeing. Of all the dead the Recon Corps were able to recover, Petra's was the one that stood out. Hanji stood there until her knees gave way, and she fell to kneel next to the broken corpse of the petite woman. She reached out and grabbed the cold hand and held it against her cheeks, as tears flowed down her face.

All those around her could hear Hanji's broken sobs, as she clutched the remains of her dead friend.

No. Lover.

Her sobs echoed against the distant tree line when it hit her that she would never again see Petra's beautiful smile. Hear her perfect voice and her perfect laugh. Nor would she ever again feel her feather light touch…

_'Goddammit. This was just like the dream I had!' _Hanji thought bitterly. It had been like her dream had entered the waking world. Their expedition had taken them to a tourist trap: the Forest Of Giant Trees. As they entered the forest, the Recon Corps had been "ambushed" in a way. Several aberrant titans came charging through the trees, causing them all to scatter, as they attempted to evade and attack the aberrants. Two titans had chased off her, Petra, and Aruro and Hanji had managed to take out one of them when it had happened.

Aruro had been attacked by a third aberrant: a 13-meter class. It had jumped up behind him and snapped him clean in half with its massive jaws, before swallowing both halves. Petra had attempted to dodge the same titan when… the other suddenly swooped down and had – with surprisingly intelligent moves – smashed her into a tree before running off. Hanji remembered the momentary paralysis she had felt before retrieving Petra. Had she had gotten to her body seconds later, and there wouldn't have been a body for her to cry over as she was now.

Hanji was suddenly pulled from her memories when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She jumped in shock and looked over to see Moblit, with a heart-breaking look on his face.

"Squad Leader," his voice cracked, "Commander Erwin is ready to load up everything. We… need to get back to the Wall."

Hanji immediately knew what Moblit meant by 'load up everything': stack the bodies in the supply cart. Nodding, she laid Petra's hand back down, covered her back up with the bloodstained canvas tarp, and with Moblit's help, carefully placed Petra in the cart. When the other bodies were loaded up, Hanji got up onto her horse, and blindly followed behind Erwin, as he led those who remained back to their caged sanctuary.

-xXx-

_The first thing Hanji comprehended was a bright, white light. Too bright._

_"Wh-Where the hell am I? And why is it so bright? God dammit Levi, if this is your way of waking me up, I swear to God I'll-"_

_"No, it's not Levi."_

_Hanji froze. _'That voice… but no, it couldn't be,' _slowly she turned around to see an angel, shrouded in a simple white dress, walking toward her. The light kept her from seeing the angel's face, but when the angel drew closer, Hanji almost fainted._

_"P-Petra?" her voice wavered dangerously, as she looked upon the woman she loved so much. "But- no, I- you're-" but Petra held up a finger to Hanji's lips, cutting her off._

_"Yes, I am." Tears filled in Petra's eyes as she took in the sight of Hanji, and she pulled the taller woman into a hug. _

_"You were right, Hanji. Oh god, you were right." Hanji heard Petra's voice break, and she wrapped her strong arms around Petra's shaking form, as she started to cry as well._

_"Why…" she whispered, "why did it have to end like this? I didn't want to be right! It's not fair!" she yelled hoarsely, her voice echoing around in the emptiness. _

_"I don't want to leave you," she croaked, holding her lover tighter. "I don't want this to end."_

_"Nor do I," Petra whispered back, "But you- you must! One day you won't have to, but it's not time yet." Hanji suddenly realized that she was no longer holding Petra; she had become translucent._

_"NO! PETRA, PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME!"_

_Petra raised a see-through hand to Hanji's face. Her heart stopped when she realized Petra was pulling her face closer. When her face was close enough, Petra kissed Hanji, her lips opening as she shared one last moment with her. Hanji made to wrap her arms around her, but they made no contact, so she simply reveled in the feel of Petra's lips on hers, the taste of her tongue as it moved with her own. Tears cascaded down from her eyes, and Hanji could taste the salt as it mixed with their saliva._

_But like all good things, the kiss was suddenly over, and the distance between Hanji and Petra was increasing. Yelling in denial, Hanji tried to run to Petra, but she found she could not move. She reached out her hand but it only passed through Petra's outstretched arm._

_"NOOO! PETRAAA!"_

-xXx-

Hanji woke with a start as her voice echoed through the bedroom, her body covered in sweat, and the bed sheets tangled around her legs. Panting heavily, she sat up and realized… she was not in her bedroom.

… She was in Petra's.

That alone caused the tears to stream down her face, which was already covered in dried tear tracks from crying herself to sleep. Untangling her legs, she pulled them into herself, and rested her head and arms on them as she cried. _'Why do we live in this cursed world? What have we done to deserve this punishment?' _She sat there, sobbing her heart out, keeping her dream of Petra at the front of her brain.

After several moments, Hanji was able to staunch the flow of her tears. Wiping her face dry with the sleeve of her nightshirt, she laid back down, resting her head on the pillows that we still heavily saturated with Petra's unique scent. Shoving her nose deep into the pillow, she inhaled, letting Petra's scent permeate her nasal cavity, letting it take over her brain and sooth her back to sleep.

_'One day, I will see you again…"_


End file.
